Laurie’s Backstory

(I cut this from Chapter 7. As much as I'd like to tell you all about everybody, it is Chuck and Bobbi's book. Plus, it's just exposition. Sorry Laurie. She and Glen have an interesting story. We may try to figure out some way to deliver to you.)

Childcare was an unexpected career choice for a woman who had lost two babies, each in the first trimester. Once her doctor confirmed it was unlikely that she would ever carry a baby to term, she and Glen grieved, but then slowly began to explore how she could use her gift of a tender, compassionate heart towards children. They looked into adopting, and were very close to finalizing when things fell through. The grief was almost as intense as losing a child of their own, and she wouldn’t risk it again. She tried babysitting for working parents for several years, but when she took a job at a daycare a little over twenty years ago, she knew she’d found her life’s work.

At fifty-one, instead of enjoying grandchildren like so many of her longtime friends, Laurie focused on impacting the lives of the children she had under her care. If pressed, she would admit there were times she still thought about, still longed for children of her own, or even grandchildren. She and Glen would have been good parents, but she got a tremendous sense of purpose and fulfillment from her job. She loved her kids, and the kids knew it. Even on the most hectic days, when she and the rest of the staff were worn to a frazzle, she still wouldn’t trade her job for anything.